


Missing Piece

by Emono



Category: The Pacific (TV)
Genre: Angst, M/M, Snippet, Unrequited Love
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-10
Updated: 2017-06-10
Packaged: 2018-11-12 07:50:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 568
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11157453
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Emono/pseuds/Emono
Summary: No one knew Hoosier went to see Leckie.





	Missing Piece

No one knew it, but Hoosier went to visit Leckie.

 

Hoosier got out of the hospital and when he got home the first thing he did was start working to save up money for a truck that could take him across the country. He took long shifts and thought of Leckie, of the moments they’d shared. The lingering touches, the looks, and that one fateful kiss beneath the stars in Melbourne after that girl broke his heart. They’d been so close and he chased that memory with a single minded determination that fueled him until the day he got wind that the 1st Marines were finally coming home. Runner contacted him, told him they’d made it. He called his friend, got Leckie’s address, and that was all he needed. He packed a bag, quit his job, loaded the truck and his new dog (a Redbone Coonhound with a loving nature that his cousin had given to him as a welcome home present), and they hit the road.

 

It took days to get to New Jersey but he did. He found Leckie’s house. He found _Leckie_.

 

And by God he wished he hadn’t.

Hoosier had been choked with hope since he got the phone call. It had swelled up in his throat and through his chest until even cigarette smoke couldn’t fit in his lungs. All he wanted to do was get to Leckie and pull him somewhere dark so he could kiss him again, hold him, reassure himself that he was alive. But all that hope turned to tar as he sat in his truck a few houses down from Leckie’s place. Hoosier felt like he was drowning and Boomstick (his sweet Coonhound) was pushing her muzzle against him and whining. He couldn’t even bring himself to pet her. He couldn’t feel his hands, he couldn’t feel anything. 

 

Everything came crashing down because Leckie was kissing some girl on the sidewalk. They clung to each other like they were in love. But it wasn’t just any girl. The woman snagged his hat and started running into the yard and he heard Leckie call her name _Vera! Vera, stop!_

 

So that was Vera. Hoosier could’ve sworn Leckie had been making her up.

 

“She’s beautiful, ain’t she?” Hoosier murmured, hand falling onto Boomstick’s head. Vera was one of the most beautiful women he’d ever seen. Perfect dark curls, fair skin, red lips, and a smile that could catch a fish without a hook. 

 

Hoosier looked into the rearview mirror and cast a critical eye on his own face. He was tan but there was a weariness around his eyes, sleep bruises and washed out irises. He was filthy from the non-stop drive and his plaid shirt was as threadbare as his jeans. He tried to fix his mess of hair but it was hopeless. He was usually proud of its golden sheen but it was matted and muddy from the heat and sweat. 

 

And out there Leckie was smiling like the world had finally come together for him. Maybe it had. Hoosier had been hoping this trip would fill the void that had been left in his own life. 

 

Hoosier fired up the engine and gave Boomstick one last pet. “Guess he don’t need us anymore, girl. He found what he was missing. Let’s…go home, I guess.”

 

Leckie never knew he visited. And maybe it was better that way.


End file.
